Closing Ceremony - Traditional Closing
Speakers
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Kahsennenhawe Sky-DeerFormer Grand Chief, Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:keKahsennenhawe Sky-Deer
Former Grand Chief, Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke
Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:keKahsennenhawe Sky-Deer (Wolf Clan) is the elected Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke. She was first elected to Council in 2009 and is serving her community in her fifth straight three-year term of office. She was elected as the first ever female Grand Chief in July 2021 making history for Kahnawà:ke.
Grand Chief Sky-Deer’s current areas of focus in her role as Grand Chief are: External Government Relations (Kahnawà:ke/Canada Relations), Nation Building, Border Crossing and Indigenous Relations and Governance (MCK and Community)
Grand Chief Sky-Deer graduated from Vanier College in 1999 before moving to Florida to play women’s professional football. She later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida in 2008. She returned to her community of Kahnawà:ke that year and has been living and working in Kahnawà:ke ever since.
Grand Chief Sky-Deer is very passionate about issues pertaining to the protection of inherent rights, the revitalization of the Mohawk Language and the survival of the Cultural Identity of her People. She spoke to the Standing Committee in the hearings for Bill S-3 and warned about the threat this posed to all First Nations people. Grand Chief Sky-Deer is also very interested in creating partnerships and ventures that will help the community develop in economic sustainability, job creation and diverse housing projects.